Do People With Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-diabetes Have More Thyroid Problems?

There has been a lot of talk about type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes being connected to thyroid disorders. So researchers in Iran conducted a study to find out if they could locate a link between those with impaired glucose metabolism and thyroid problems.

They calculated the prevalence of thyroid disorders in those with impaired glucose metabolism over age 30 and compared the numbers to those with no type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.

No Link Between Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes and Thyroid Dysfunction

After adjusting for those variables they found that the incidence of thyroid disorders in those with type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes wasn’t higher than in those without any diabetes.

The researchers did state in their abstract however, that in patients with TPOAb levels that are ≥40 IU/ml or TSH levels that are >1.94 mU/L, thyroid tests should be done to rule out thyroid issues.

What Previous Studies Have Said About Diabetes and Thyroid Problems

Other researchers have found that rates of thyroid disorders are higher in those with diabetes. In the Journal of Clinical Diabetes, Patricia Wu, MD, FACE, FRCP, wrote that in the general population, thyroid disease is found in 6.6% of people.

In those with diabetes however, she wrote that the prevalence of thyroid disease is 10.8%

Of those 10.8%, 36% have hypothyroidism, 513% have subclinical hypothyroidism, 12% have hyperthyroidism, and 11% have postpartum thyroiditis.

Are Many of the Verge of Developing Hypothyroidism?

According to this article, subclinical hypothyroidism is by far the most common by far among those with diabetes. Subclinical hypothyroidism, according to an article from the Mayo Clinic Proceedings is also known as “mild thyroid failure” and is diagnosed by a doctor when peripheral thyroid hormone levels are in the normal reference lab range but TSH levels are considered only mildly elevated.

“This condition occurs in 3% to 8% of the general population. It is more common in women than men, and its prevalence increases with age. Of patients with [subclinical hypothyroidism], 80% have a serum TSH of less than 10 mIU/L.”

The article states that “the most important implication of [subclinical hypothyroidism] is high likelihood of progression to clinical hypothyroidism.”

Those with subclinical hypothyroidism may have no symptoms or may have symptoms like cold intolerance, fatigue, depression, and weight gain or the inability to lose weight.

Researchers state that more studies need to be done to better understand subclinical hypothyroidism as well as if there is any link between diabetes and thyroid issues. According to this study, there isn’t a link.

Sysy Morales has lived with type 1 diabetes for 23 years. She also blogs at The Girls Guide to Diabetes, is a motivational speaker, and is a graduate of The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sysy lives in Virginia with her husband and 8 year old twins.